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Bob Greenlee: Some thoughts on City Council's upcoming retreat

By Bob Greenlee

Posted:
01/14/2016 09:55:55 PM MST

Bob Greenlee

Next weekend Boulder's nine City Council members will ensconce themselves in a room stuffed full of city staff and other local activists for a two-day "retreat." It's here that the newest council members get to interact with the veterans and play nice with each other. Having participated in this exercise for many years I'll offer a few suggestions for their consideration.

First, council should resist the temptation to react to daily newspaper headlines that don't conform to someone's individual sensitivities. Not long after the November election the presidential campaign season was underway and council found itself mired in attempting to re-convince the community that it was an inclusive and welcoming place for all people. Those who live here both legally and illegally, are "of color," or have "non-conforming" lifestyles or religious beliefs, are all welcomed. Supporting any notion that Boulder is currently rife with discrimination, harassment, or intimidation making people feel "unsafe" is largely absurd. A few council members cited examples of the city's past as if nothing concerning acceptance and inclusivity had ever been accomplished over the years.

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Public hearings and passing unnecessary resolutions of any kind reconfirming the city's open and progressive inclinations is a knee-jerk reaction to national headlines, grandstanding, and frankly time wasting.

The new council should also resist appointing former city council members to any of its advisory board and commissions. Far too many recycled politicos manage to invade these important decision-making bodies and perpetuate their well-established and biased tendencies.

In a community inhabited by a diversity of thoughtful and intelligent citizens, there should be no reason or need to reprocess any non-term-limited elected official. In addition, years ago the city made a tragic error when it gave away its ability to make important land-use decisions by agreeing to a "four-body review" process whereby unelected members of the public in both the city and the county are permitted to veto the city's vital future land-use needs. The new council should immediately begin working to eliminate this reckless affectation.

Perhaps the most pressing issue council members should confront at this year's retreat is the never-ending municipalization soap opera. The city is embarking on its sixth year of perpetuating this endless and nonsensical fantasy while wastefully spending millions on its impossible dream. Every one of the city's efforts to coerce the muni outcome it seeks has been sidelined either by the courts, regulatory authorities, or common sense. Just a month ago, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission once again reminded the city that it cannot propose to overturn the legislative authority granted to a regulated monopoly just because the city wants to. In response, the city's propaganda machine continued grinding out deceptive pronouncements on how splendidly things are going while ignoring the realities and the immense public costs of achieving its questionable takeover of serving the city's electric customers. Despite every painful reality, the city claims it can still achieve all of its charter objectives at an unknown cost without having any assurance whatsoever of acquiring what it claims the public has demanded.

This muni experiment has turned out to be nothing more than an environmental crusade promising all electric service in the city will soon be provided by "local" and "renewable" sources. That claim is a complete fabrication and utter myth. Over time it might one day be possible to achieve this desirable objective once technology and the necessary infrastructure are capable of replacing our current antiquated and archaic energy production and distribution systems. But to force that outcome by spending millions on outside experts, consultants, and attorneys without having either a clue or the money necessary defines insanity.

This council retreat should prioritize getting a handle around the current status of the city's nearly impossible municipalization scheme. Not doing so this year will leave the city and its citizens in litigation purgatory. It's time to deal with rather than continuing to ignore the reality.

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